She's Not My Girlfriend!
by Hammer of Oblivion
Summary: Robin just found out how Starfire felt about him. Now on the trip back home he has plenty of time to think about what happened while they were stranded and the time spent with Starfire. Takes place immediately after the episode "Stranded." A little Rob/Star too.


**Ever wonder what went through Robin's mind after events of the episode "Stranded" well here is my take on it. You know the tension must have been thick between him and Starfire after that little experience, I don't see how it couldn't be.**

**Also, I haven't forsaken "Star Fall," but I had surgery on one of my hands and haven't been able to type for a while. I hope to write the next chapter soon, just not sure how I want to proceed with the next chapter. I have three possible ways I want to go with the next chapter, but can't decide on any of them. **

**Anyway I hope you enjoy this One Shot.**

_**Disclaimer: The Teen Titans and all characters belong to DC Comics and TimeWarner. I only own the plot of this story and it ain't much.**_

"She's Not My Girlfriend!"

Finally we were on our way back to Earth after our little detour to that alien planet, no thanks to that Sonic Monster. We were able to find everyone and get Cyborg all put back together, though there was some difficulty in getting Raven 'free' from the "Sha-Las." The little aliens finally relented if Raven promised to visit them again. Now with all that behind us we could finally rest a bit while on the journey home.

We had just left the Centauri way station for repairs, or at least enough repairs to get us home so that Cyborg could do a total refit. The T-ship took quite a bit of damage and even with the repairs we were running at less than sixty percent capacity. Cyborg was keeping an eye on the ship's status in case the drive system malfunctioned. The last thing we needed was to be stranded in the middle of space with little food or water and no guarantee of a rescue. With the repairs we did make, it would take us about six hours to make a two and a half hour trip.

What started out as a training mission to test the newest additions to the T-Ship, became an investigation into why a Centauri communications station had gone off line, then a battle with a nearly indestructible monster, and nearly getting us all killed or hopelessly stranded on a dangerous planet far from home. Then it ended up with me finding out that Starfire considered our relationship more than I realized, no thanks to Cyborg.

"_Girlfriend,"_ that one little word would cause so much trouble, honestly it never occurred to me that Starfire felt way. I never thought much about it, well maybe a little, but then Cyborg has to go and call her my _"girlfriend."_ Where did that come from? What did the other Titans talk about behind mine and Star's back? Did they really think of us that way? I guess it would seem so, all three of them had this knowing smirk, and it totally caught me off guard.

Sure I liked Starfire, what guy wouldn't? She's pretty, easy to get along with, caring, loyal, and a great friend. I never thought she would like me in that way though, I mean, she's a warrior princess from another world. She can fly, almost as strong as Superman and can throw star bolts and shoot beams from her eyes. I've been her best friend since she got here, but could we be more than that. I don't know, being heroes and all…, it could just hurt the team dynamic if I did.

"Hey Rob, so what happened with you and Star? That hug looked, oh you know, more than friendly. Took you a while to remove your arm around her waist too," Cyborg piped in to my comm-link.

"Stuff it Tin Man! We were glad to be alive after that monster nearly killed us, is all. Nothing more than that," I said with some irritation. I quickly looked back at Starfire and could see she was sleeping. I wouldn't put it past Cyborg to pipe this conversation to the whole ship.

"Yeah right, and Green Bean loves big ole juicy steaks. When you gonna admit it man? You've had the hots for Star since that time she kissed you."

I could feel the heat rise up in my cheeks and forehead. Why did he have to bring _that_ up?

"That was just some…, uhh…, Tamaranean thing…, nothing more…, now just forget it!" Honestly I never knew why she kissed me then, and I don't know why I didn't.

"What, you never asked her why she kissed you then? Or are you, the great Boy Wonder, afraid to ask her why, because the reason is not what you think? Rob, we all know you like her and she likes you. Time to step it up man and go for it; she won't wait around forever you know. With guys like Speedy and Kid Flash out there just waiting to jump at the chance, oh and don't forget Aqualad, you saw how she acted around him and I've seen your jealous reaction when he's around her. You don't let him get close. Heck, even a blind person could tell what you feel for her."

I was getting angry now, angry that Cyborg wouldn't let it go. Angry that he was right, that I did like Starfire and did get jealous when the other male Titans were around, but for crying out loud, what was I supposed to do? Batman would hound me to death if I even thought of starting a relationship with a teammate and what about Batgirl? Yeah, what about Batgirl? I haven't heard from her in over a year, oh yeah, I haven't contacted her either, except for sending her a birthday and Christmas card.

I turned off my comm-link for now, I didn't want to hear Cyborg's ribbing me about Starfire anymore. I put the ship on auto-pilot and tried to allow myself to relax; using the techniques Batman and Alfred taught me. I was about to the state of shutting everything out when a horrible thought occurred to me.

Once we get back how would things be in the Tower. Oh my god! Cyborg was just one issue, but there was Beast Boy too! Those two would never let up, unless maybe… yeah, they both feared Raven. Maybe I could get Raven too… No that wouldn't work; she was in on it too. Then there was Starfire, what would she expect now? Would she expect dates, gifts, boyfriend/girlfriend stuff? I mean I never committed to anything, almost did, but that monster interrupted us, then later Cyborg and Beast Boy showed up, so maybe I can just let it slide back to what we have. I mean things were good then, we were best friends, hanging out together, doing things together, going on patrols together, sitting on the roof together, going to the park… Oh crap, no wonder she thought of herself as my girlfriend, we did do things like couples do, well except for all the physical stuff, and even there she hugged me and touched me more. Seems like she started that shortly after we returned from Tamaran, when she nearly got married, guess I was seeing things differently, or was I?

I thought about our team and there were times when I hung out with the Cyborg and Beast Boy, but their bantering got annoying after a while. Striking up a conversation with Raven was never easy and she didn't like to be bothered. Sure we got closer after she entered my mind that one time, but she was still Raven. So of course it was only natural for me to hang out with Starfire. We'd have our talks and I enjoyed teaching her about Earth. She always seemed eager to listen and I didn't mind. Sometimes her naivety could get on my nerves, but I often overlooked it and for the most part she respected my need for privacy. Of all the Titans she was the one who seemed to understand me the most and the one I felt I could talk to when I needed someone to listen.

Of all those times it never really occurred to me that she thought our closeness was more than friends, and me in my own socially messed up state (thanks Batman), had no clue. Sure I had my thoughts about her, and I'd be lying to myself to say I didn't like her, I like her a lot… But how could a relationship with her even work? I mean she's an alien, sure she looks mostly human, but it's obvious she's not. I mean her skin and eyes are a dead giveaway, and then there was that "transformation" thing she went through. According to her, the Tamaranean digestive system is composed of nine stomachs and a relatively simple intestine. Her body can withstand the extremes of space and she has organs and skin cells that turn sunlight into energy. There's no doubt she's a girl though, or at least a Tamaranean girl. We've never really talked about it, but other than that she's a girl. I uh…, what about her…, no…, I don't want to go there just yet, gotta work out the other stuff first.

"_Problems Robin?" _

"Get out of my head Raven!" I growled.

"_I'd love to, but your emotions are disturbing my meditation."_

"Sorry, trying to work things out in my head."

"_I'm sure you are. I wish you would be honest with yourself and her. It would make her happy at least and I wouldn't have to deal with all the angst and confusion I feel between you two."_

"Raven, I'd like to make her happy too, but I might lose my edge, you know as leader of the Titans. I do care for her, I care for all of you, but I have to keep her at a distance. She could become a distraction."

"_And she's not already Robin? She's distracted you since day one. You can't keep your eyes off of her so you throw yourself into your work to throw up a wall between her and the rest of us, or at least you try. When you're not hiding in you evidence room, you seek her out first or you're thinking about her. Hiding like you do from her and the rest of though is not you and you know it. You are not Batman and you need people. If you opened up I think you would find that it would clear your head more than you think."_

"But I'd worry about her if I let my emotions get in the way. Keep her from danger during patrols and stuff and she'd hate me for it. What if Slade got to her, him being back and all, or some other criminal?"

"_Robin, you don't need to protect her you know. She can take care of herself, she's a warrior princess from a race or warriors."_

"I know that!"

"_No need to get snappy Robin. If you know that, then why do you worry about her?"_

I had to pause at that, Raven was right, I do worry about her when I shouldn't. The thought of her getting hurt is more than I want to think about, but I forget how strong and resilient she is. Hell of all the Titans, she's probably the strongest and I'm the weakest, an acrobat, and a circus performer that wears a mask and cape and has a lot of gadgets to make me more than what I am. Of all of them, I could die the easiest; just one slip, one well-placed bullet, one punch by many of the villains we face and I'd be dead. If anybody needs to be worried over, it's me.

"_She does worry about you."_

"Stop that!"

"_Sorry, it was a strong thought. Robin, I'm going to tell you something that may make you understand things more. Starfire admires you for your bravery more than anything. She's aware of your human frailties, but she doesn't care. She knows that you would jump into any battle without considering fear or obstacles. She doesn't care that you are not as strong as her or can't fly; she just knows she's never known anyone like you and you gave her a reason to care again._

I just stared at the console. I remember when we first met and I had left Gotham to get away from Batman, and his oppressive ways. I planned to start out on my own, then on my first night of patrol, Starfire literally crashed into my life. She was angry, scared, feral and destroying the center of Jump City. She even tried to kill me, then I earned her trust enough so that I could remove the bracers that bound her. Then she kissed me and things changed. Not sure what it was about that kiss. It was rather forced and violent, but good at the same time. She was still hostile, but I swear I saw hint of a smile when she flew off.

"_She was full of anger that day, but something you did changed her and her aura gave off a feeling of joy."_

"Really?"

"_Yes, and she has that same aura now and contentment, though before we crashed her aura was full of hurt and confusion."_

"That much I do know. She told me as much. I did learn something today that her abilities are rooted in her emotions…"

"_You mean you didn't know that? You're closer to her than any of us, and you didn't know that?"_

"No, I guess there's a lot I don't know about her. Maybe I should work on that."

"_Maybe you should, you should both get to know each other more, starting with who you really are."_

"You know I can't do that Raven, You're the only one of the team that knows and I thank you for keeping it a secret. I can't risk the others knowing, can you imagine what could happen if they did."

"_You have to tell her sometime Robin, but maybe you're right, it might be too early for that. She may not understand at first, though she does wonder why you wear the mask."_

"I know we've talked about it some, but not too much. I've told her it is to protect Batman, which is true. If my identity is known then it won't be long until the smarter criminals put two and two together."

"_Ok, you can wait on that, but you should try to get to know her, not her knowledge, but her. What she likes, and what she likes to do. You might be surprised how much humans and Tamaraneans are alike."_

"Do you two talk…, you know about me…, or other guys? What does she say about me Raven?"

"_Other than what I told you, she does talk about you and the other guys too. Not just Cyborg and Beast Boy though, they're like brothers to her. She has told me that Speedy sends her texts and emails all the time, even though she mostly ignores them. He's very pushy about trying to get a date with her, but she's turned him down numerous times. Aqualad on the other hand she'll talk too, but he has a girlfriend named Tula. If it weren't for that, we might not even be having this conversation."_

"What?! Aqualad? I knew she had a crush on him at one time, but that was a while ago."

"_Well, she still thinks highly of him and he is a prince of Atlantis after all. Oh and then there's Red X, he's got her number too."_

"And how did he get that? He better keep his grimy hands off of her"

"_He is Red X after all, remember he broke in here and stole the suit."_

"Yeah, don't remind me. So I'm not the only one then?" I felt really dejected at the moment.

"_I didn't say that. The others she sees only as friends or team members. Aqualad she likes, but not as strongly as she likes you. I admit, it was hard not to have a crush on him either, but that lasted about a minute with me. She despises Red X though, to her he's a criminal that stole from you and deserves to be punished. You don't have to worry about him."_

"Good, so you're saying that she likes me more than Aqualad?"

"_Yep, but don't wait too long Robin, if you do hurt her again, she may seek out someone else either here or on her home world. You may wake up one day and find she's gone, maybe back to Tameran."_

I got quiet for a moment. I sometimes forget she could always head back to her home, and not even need a spaceship to get there. I know she'd be welcomed by her people and I'm sure some prince would be more than glad to be with her. Raven's right, I do need to get to know _her _more, not just her knowledge, but her.

"Thanks Raven, you're a good friend."

"_You're welcome, now just relax and don't get all worked up over this. You'll know what to do."_

I suddenly felt a sense of calmness and I struggled to keep my eyes open, I knew then Raven had cast something like a sleep spell on me and there was no way to fight it. As I drifted off, I was thankful that Raven was on our side…

I was awakened by a loud, obnoxious noise and I jerked from my slumber to see what the problem was. I looked around my heart racing, thinking that that the T-Ship was under attack or we were crashing and then I saw the arc of the familiar blue planet below us. It was only the ship's alarm, letting us know we were about to enter the Earth's atmosphere.

"You awake up there Rob?" Cyborg's voice asked in my earphones.

"I am now." I said as I shook the cobwebs from my head.

"Good, didn't wanna pilot her by myself, the controls are a little iffy, I can tell that BB didn't hook up the stabilizer coupling with the inertial dampener solenoid."

"Hey you told me to hookup the thing-a-ma-jig to the whosa-whatzit!" Beast Boy protested

"And you didn't do it right."

"Maybe, but we're flying Tinman, so fix it when we get home."

"Why you…"

"Enough you two, be thankful we're home. Now let's get us all home in one peace. It'd be a shame to make it all the way back and crash now."

Both got silent and I smirked while rolling my eyes behind his mask.

"Robin, you are awake! Did you have pleasant _slorvaks?_" Starfire's voice chimed in happily through my earphones.

I momentarily froze, I realized he would have to face her soon once they landed, and I felt the butterflies in my stomach. I took deep breath and tried to sound confident.

"Sure, and you?" Instead of confidence though my voice betrayed me with an obvious squeak and I was sure I heard a tiny, quiet giggle from Starfire.

"Oh yes, most pleasant Robin." She paused then continued. "Are you the ok? Your voice sounded rather strange."

"Oh, uh… just a dry throat, I must have slept with my mouth open." I said with a couple of coughs to drive home the point.

"I understand, we will be home soon yes?" Starfire said with obvious anticipation in her voice.

"Yes we will. Hope the bad guys stayed quiet while we were gone, I don't wanna come back to a mess."

"I am sure we will do the cleaning up of the mess if they did"

I smiled, ever the trooper Starfire was. "That we will Star, we'll be landing soon so start securing you systems and pod." I said the last part in a voice more commanding than I intended.

There was a moment of silence before she spoke again. "Yes, Robin." Starfire acknowledged then switched off her comm link.

_Oh great, now she thinks I'm made or irritated with her. Raven's right, I really need to talk to Starfire, get all of this out of the way._

"Of course I'm right Robin." Raven now said through the comm link.

I looked as the comms display and there was Raven's face smirking back at me.

"Oh, so you're using the comm instead of the our mind link?"

"I wanted you to see the smug look on my face." Raven said, still smirking.

"Ha, ha Raven, but I need to concentrate on the landing."

"Yes you do." Raven said and signed off. The smirk was still on her face.

I shook my head, then concentrated on landing the T-Ship. I sent an ID signal to the Jump City control tower, letting them know they were approaching Jump City air space. A moment later I received an acknowledgement and navigation instructions which I entered into the navigation system. At the way the T-Ship was jostling around though I worried if we'd make it or not, but the landing gear did deploy and Icould see Titans Tower in the distance.

The approach was rough, but I, along with Cyborg's help landed the T-Ship on the roof with little incident. Once the ship was settled, and the parking chocks secured the ship, I powered down. I did a final check and then opened his canopy and jumped down to the surface of the roof. I stretched feeling a bit stiff and I had a crick in my neck from where I slept. The others were out and running through their assigned checks and securing their portion of the T-ship. I looked over in the direction of Starfire's pod and didn't see her at first, but when I looked up I saw she was floating about 20 feet above them absorbing the sun. I smiled warmly at the sight then picked up my pack, and checked the landing gear and parking chocks before giving Cyborg the all clear to lower the ship into the Tower's hangar. While I was doing that, I sensed that Starfire was on the roof's surface again, and she was walking toward the door.

"Hey Star…" I called out to her.

She stopped and turned toward him, looking at him quizzically. "Yes Robin."

I walked up to her. "Hey, uhm…, I was thinking maybe once we get settled an all…, maybe, uh..., you and I…, can maybe…"

"Yes Robin?" Her eyes lit up at his bumbling request.

I looked at her then cleared my throat some, I could feel the eyes of the others watching us both.

"I thought that maybe…, we could…, uh, pick up where we left off."

Starfire looked genuinely confused now, but she smiled brightly at him. "What is it we will be doing the picking up of?"

"You know, we never finished our conversation on the planet. I thought we could…, you know finish that."

Starfire's smile turned even brighter. "That would be most pleasing; yes I would like to finish our conversation."

I felt my throat my tightening some. "Ok, say in half an hour, here on the roof."

Starfire's smile beamed now and she nodded her head. "Yes, I will be here on one half of the hour." Then she flew off through the door.

I looked behind me and the others were acting as if they were busy with other things.

"As for you three, be somewhere else in 30 minutes no questions, got it!"

They all three nodded their heads and road down the lift to the hangar with the T-Ship. I noticed the knowing smiles on all of them as they disappeared. As the lift lowered into the Tower I saw Beast Boy give me a thumbs up.

I smiled, shaking my head and headed to my room to clean up for my "sort of date" with Starfire. As I headed down to my room I still had no idea what to say to her. Hopefully I'd figure it out soon.

It seemed the half an hour was over sooner before I was ready. I quickly finished cleaning up and headed up to the roof. Once up there, I was a little disappointed as Starfire was not there. I looked at my watch, and saw that I was a couple of minutes early, so I went over to the edge and looked out over the bay towards the skyline of Jump City. I was thinking about the city I and the other Titans protected when I sensed a presence next to me, the pleasant scent of Starfire's perfume announcing her arrival.

I looked over to see her standing next to me and she looked radiant, even in her uniform.

"Hi Star, glad you could join me."

"I am too glad Robin."

I smiled and turned to her, taking her right hand in my left. "Star, I just want to say that, I, um…," I stopped to clear my throat.

"Yes Robin?" Starfire asked with anticipation.

I took a deep breath. "Well, that I would like for you to be my friend who is a…"

Suddenly my communicator chirped and the building alarms sounded off.

"Hold that thought Star." I opened my communicator. "What?"

"We got a major alarm going off in the business district, several banks broken into and damage everywhere."

I sighed in resignation. "Star we can't seem to catch a break, can we?"

Starfire smiled back, "It does not seem so Robin."

I took her hand again and pulled her closer to me. "We'll finish this conversation after we take care of this. You ok with that."

Starfire nodded, "I am ok with that."

"Let's go then, the quicker we get this over with the quicker we can get back here." I looked at her a bit mischievously, "Fly me to the garage?"

"It would be my pleasure Robin." Starfire said with a playful smile.

**Yes, I am ending it here, the rest I leave for your imagination. There are some hints in the following episodes that they did get closer, especially in "The End" Episodes 1 and 2. Also Trouble in Tokyo, was written during Season 4 and was almost finished before Season 5. Glenn Murakami considers it taking place between seasons 4 and 5, though it can be left open to interpretation. **


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